Audacity Installation and Recording

In some classes (AP Language Classes in particular), you might be asked to use a program called Audacity to record and save an audio file as part of an assignment or a test. 

Audacity is a free piece of software that can record and mix audio. It can export the recorded audio as an mp3 file.

Mac Installation

1. Go to http://www.audacityteam.org/download/ and select Mac to download.

2. Open or Double click the downloaded file.

3. When prompted, drag the Audacity.app icon to the Applications folder shortcut.

Note: It is no longer necessary to install a separate LAME Encoder to enable MP3 file export.

Windows Installation

1. Go to http://www.audacityteam.org/download/ and select Windows. 

2. Open or Double click the downloaded file.

3. Follow Setup Wizard instructions to complete the installation.

Note: It is no longer necessary to install a separate LAME Encoder to enable MP3 file export.

How to use Audacity to Record and Submit Assignments

1. Launch Audacity.

2. Click the red circle button to record any audio you wish to save as an MP3 file, then click the black, square "stop" button.

3. Go to File > Export as MP3.

4. Give your file a name according to your teacher's instructions.

5. Select the folder where you want to save your final file. (Remember where you save it!)

6. Confirm File type is set to MP3 and the leave other settings including Bit Rate, Quality, and Channel Mode as is unless you know better.

7. Click Save.

8. The next screen will ask you to add any relevant information about the recording. You can leave all of this blank.

9. Click OK.

10. After your file is created, be sure it recorded and exported properly by double clicking on it to play it back NOT using Audacity

11. If everything sounds good, upload it to your teacher according to your teacher's instructions